Events

This is a hybrid meeting:

• Join us in person at Knox Presbyterian Church (Lisgar & Elgin) in Geneva Hall.  Please use the Garden Entrance on Elgin Street. Limited free street parking is available on Saturdays, and the City Hall Parking Garage is available for $2.00.
• Join online by registering here

. This registration covers both events.

Two Feature Talks!

From the Vaults

Middlemore Children: In Their Own Words / 9 a.m. EDT

Presenters: Patricia Roberts-Pichette; Glenn Wright

Home children in Canada have been the focus of extensive research and writing for many years, but rarely have we heard the children themselves. Drawing on the records of Middlemore‘s Children’s Emigration Homes, Patricia Roberts-Pichette and Glenn Wright let the children speak of their hopes, fears and experiences in coming to Canada as young immigrants.

Patricia Roberts-Pichette and Glenn Wright are both long time members of BIFSHGO and both have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Patricia began her work on the Middlemore project in 2001, and Glenn Wright is thrilled for the opportunity to explore and bring to life the experiences of home children in their own words.

Exciting Cause: an investigation into women confined in the 1890s to the Kingston Asylum for the Insane (Rockwood) in Kingston, Ontario / 10.15 a.m. EDT

Presenter: Laurie Fyffe

Laurie Fyffe’s journey into the fascinating history of the Kingston Asylum for the Insane began with the discovery that her great-great grandmother, Sarah Ann Gerrard, died in that institution in 1901. How did Sarah Ann, a mother of four and a devout Anglican, come to spend the last eighteen months of her life in an asylum for the insane? Tracing Sarah’s surprising personal history led Laurie to the medical case history files of Rockwood’s female patients, where she found compelling stories and tragic outcomes for women who fell short of the ideal for female behaviour in late 19th century Victorian Canada.

An Ottawa based playwright and dramaturge, Laurie Fyffe has written and produced multiple theatrical presentations at the Ottawa Fringe Festival. In the spring of 2023, Laurie’s play Exciting Cause, created with choreographer Allison Burns, premiered at Arts Court Theatre, eventually receiving multiple Prix Rideau Award nominations. In the fall of 2022, Beowulf In Afghanistan was selected for development through the Great Canadian Theatre Company’s Tributary Project. A member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada and the Canadian Authors Association, Laurie was Artistic Manager of Ottawa StoryTellers from 2014 to 2017, and now teaches at the Algonquin College School of Media and Design.

This is a hybrid meeting:

• Join us in person at Knox Presbyterian Church (Lisgar & Elgin) in Geneva Hall.  Please use the Garden Entrance on Elgin Street. Limited free street parking is available on Saturdays, and the City Hall Parking Garage is available for $2.00.
• Join online by registering here

. This registration covers both events.

How can the Ottawa Branch OGS Library help my research?

Presenter: Grace Lewis

Grace Lewis has been the Volunteer Librarian for the Ottawa Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society since 2010. She has shepherded the collection through an extensive expansion program, welcoming donations from individuals and organizations alike. In 2016, BIFHSGO closed down its library and transferred ownership of the 2,500-item collection to the Ottawa Branch OGS Library, which currently contains over 13,000 items. Grace’s presentation will review what is available for BIFHSGO researchers at the library she has helped develop.

Grace Lewis was raised in a small community southeast of Ottawa in a large and loving farm family and has absorbed the oral traditions of family stories told by relatives and ancestors. Her family thrived in the Glengarry-Prescott area, where her forebears settled after arriving from Scotland and England in the mid-1800s. Her work life centered on publications coordination, and she retired after 40 years of government service. She currently enjoys retirement with various hobbies and summer travel and relishes her time at the Ottawa Branch OGS Library.

From the Vaults
Travels With My Aunt: Adventures in Europe, 1914
Originally presented in February 2014

Presenter: Barbara Tose

Barbara Tose will reprise her story of the adventures her great-grand-aunt Nellie had in Britain and Europe during the summer of 1914. Barbara weaves the stories from Nellie’s 30-page letter to her brother with the momentous events of that summer leading to the start of WW I.

An inductee into BIFHSGO’s Hall of Fame, Barbara Tose joined BIFHSGO in 2008 and served on the Board of Directors from 2014–2022, including four years as president. Barbara will retire soon as managing editor of BIFHSGO’s quarterly journal, Anglo-Celtic Roots..

Teaghlach Gaelach: A Celebration of Irish Family History

This Irish Gaelic phrase means "Irish Family."  "Family" is at the heart of what we do as genealogists. The "Celebration" will echo BIFHSGO's 30th anniversary, and the exciting developments in Irish family history research. With so many new resources being made available online—that is cause for celebration as well. 

An exciting slate of speakers is being pulled together, so be sure to watch for details!

This is a hybrid meeting:

• Join us in person at Knox Presbyterian Church (Lisgar & Elgin) in Geneva Hall.  Please use the Garden Entrance on Elgin Street. Limited free street parking is available on Saturdays, and the City Hall Parking Garage is available for $2.00.
• Join online by registering here

. This registration covers both events.

I’m Sorry—We Don’t Have Your Grandfather’s War Records…

Presenter: Seana (Shea) Jones

However, we do have plenty of other primary source materials that provide an insight into the everyday life of your ancestors during the two world wars and during peacetime.

There are over 70 accredited Canadian Armed Forces museums across Canada, covering the army, air force and navy. Sheana will explore the diverse array of artifacts, documents, photographs, and personal accounts that comprise the archival treasures of military museums.

From weaponry to uniforms, each artifact provides a narrative of life during conflict, both at home and abroad. The firsthand accounts that military museums also hold provide crucial context, shedding light on pivotal moments, strategies, and the human experiences behind conflicts.

Whether you're a seasoned historian or a new, eager enthusiast, this talk promises to deepen your appreciation for the invaluable treasures housed within military museums and how these objects can help you augment your genealogy research.

Seana (Shea) Jones is the Collections Manager at the Garrison Petawawa Military Museum in Petawawa, Ontario.

Rebuilding A Life After Service in the Canadian Forestry Corps, With Help from the Soldier’s Settlement Board / 10 a.m. EST

Dianne Brydon will tell us about her grandfather Frank Brydon’s experience in the Canadian Forestry Corps during World War One, his injury, and his dealings with the Soldier’s Settlement Board to rebuild his life upon his return.

In 2017 Dianne Brydon published, with her father, The Stalwart Brydons: From Scotland to Galt to Portage La Prairie, her paternal family history.  She previously told the story of the Brydons’ arrival in Canada in a 2017 Great Moment “Despite What You Tell Your Children, More Than One Official Record Exists to Prove What Really Happened.” Dianne is currently BIFHSGO’s president.rps, With Help from the Soldier’s Settlement Board / 10 a.m. EST